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TRADE MINISTERS MEET TO MEND CETA MESS: The agenda in Luxembourg is CETA, CETA and CETA. Ambassadors were meeting yesterday to try to find workarounds to unspecific Walloon complaints. Frustrated Flemish officials were busy saying Wallonia (and its one-fifth of Belgian exports) doesn’t speak for them. Romania has been seeking to settle its visa dispute with Canada, though the word around Luxembourg is that no deal is likely today (Bulgaria already settled its dispute and Canada has the Walloons to manage in parallel). Slovak EU presidency sources continue to insist they want a unanimous, not a majority vote — which makes sense given all 28 government need to sign the deal before it can be provisionally applied.

The CETA upshot: Don’t be surprised if the Canada trade deal finds itself on the EU leaders’ summit agenda; there’s not a lot of consensus floating around this morning. Or as DG Trade’s Peter Berz put it at trade discussion at the Brussels Press Club Monday night, “God knows what happens tomorrow.” http://bit.ly/2eJIIa2

UK and rest of EU set to clash on China trade policy: Alberto Mucci and Florian Eder report that while Brussels will this week “make its highest-level push to toughen trade defenses against China,” that is putting Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on a collision course with a caucus of British-led Northern European countries. http://politi.co/2dw8uwW

Australia aims to start its EU free trade negotiations in mid-2017, Australian diplomat Alison Burrows told a Brussels audience Monday night. She said a U.K.-Australia trade deal would happen “when the time is right. And that is not when the U.K. is a member of the EU.”

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IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE? NO, IT’S THE FACILITY FOR REFUGEES IN TURKEY: The facility is “reaching cruising speed” according to the headline of a Monday press release from the European Commission. That sounds a lot better than sinking into the Mediterranean or crashing into rocks. Here is Juncker’s letter summarizing the first six months of the deal’s operation: http://bit.ly/2eJLex6

EUROPE’S REFUGEE TIME BOMB: Matthew Karnitschnig and Janosch Delcker offer a counter-view to Juncker: Far from being a long-term solution to the issue, the Turkey deal is not even being fully applied. Arrival numbers have indeed fallen, but instead of seamlessly deterring arrivals by transferring them back to Turkey, there’s a growing backlog of claims and people piling up on Greek islands in squalid conditions, with courts generally refusing to send back those whose asylum claims are in the end rejected. http://politi.co/2djj6AJ

ITALY — CAN MATTEO RENZI’S US STATE DINNER AVOID OBAMA CURSE? Italian PM Matteo Renzi will be hoping the star endorsement of U.S. President Barack Obama rubs off on his efforts to secure constitutional reform via referendum. It didn’t work for David Cameron when he invited Obama to London in April before the Brexit referendum, but Jim Messina is hoping for better luck this time (Messina was Obama’s 2012 campaign manager, advised Cameron and now advises Renzi). Joseph J. Schatz and Jacopo Barigazzi: http://politi.co/2e0DN3A

COUNCIL — EU’S SYRIA POSITION HARDENS: The EU stepped up its rhetoric against the Syrian regime, saying in a statement it “was appalled by the deteriorating situation.” A clearly dismayed Federica Mogherini called on all Russian bombing to stop. However, with no consensus for sanctions or military action, words were all that was on offer. “The European Union is not a player on the ground in Syria,” Mogherini said earlier Monday before the ministerial meeting started. “I have to add, personally, I’m proud of not being one.” David Herszenhorn: http://politi.co/2e0pLin

FOREIGN MINISTERS’ STATEMENTS ON …

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Ministers condemned the Russian-backed referendum held in the Serb entity of Bosnia-Herzegovina, saying it “caused unnecessary tensions and challenged the rule of law.” http://politi.co/2eJF1Bv

ICYMI EU BUDGET — SLOVAK NEGOTIATOR HEADS OFF JUST BEFORE DISCUSSIONS BEGIN: Just before negotiations with MEPs are due to begin on the EU’s 2017 budget, Vazil Hudák, the Slovak EU presidency’s chief negotiator, has quit to take up a role at the European Investment Bank. State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Ivan Lesay is taking over. http://bit.ly/2eeV07P

ECA — NEW REPORT INTO COMMISSION’S GOVERNANCE OUT TODAY: The European Court of Auditors will publish its special report looking at what the Commission has learned (or not) regarding audit and financial management and control since the 1999 resignation of the Santer Commission.

SPEAKING OF BUDGETS AND FINANCIAL CONTROL: Playbook hears that life is getting tough for some European Commission departments, such that at least one has had trouble covering monthly salary bills on time. No one’s actually missed their salary thus far, but if you were thinking of proposing a staff Christmas drink for 2016, for example, you might find managers paying for it out-of-pocket or telling you “no.” Or if you notice some department managers with iPads and others without, that may be because some departments temporarily borrow out of operational budget lines (for example for a research or infrastructure project) and put it towards things like IT needs, while they wait for expected payments from national governments to arrive. Pure policy departments have no such budget flexibility. Commission Spokesperson Alexander Winterstein assured Playbook there’s no problem: “Member states always pay on time.”

OLAF — DANISH MEPs QUESTIONED OVER MESSERSCHMIDT FRAUD CLAIMS: Danish People’s Party MEP Jørn Dohrmann was hauled in front of the EU’s fraud investigators Monday, while Rikke Karlsson, the MEP who first revealed Morten Messerschmidt’s creative approach to paperwork, is meeting them November 7. “There’s still around 20 million krone [€2.7 million] that isn’t accounted for,” she told Playbook.

PARLIAMENT — SOCIALISTS BEGIN LISTENING TOUR WITH ‘TOGETHER’ CONFERENCE: On Wednesday, hundreds of European Socialists, stakeholder organizations, and individual citizens will gather in the European Parliament to kick off an 18-month event tour around Europe that aims to provide the building blocks for a revamped manifesto for the 2019 European elections. All seats are taken, but you can watch live online here.

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW … WITH GIANNI PITTELLA, S&D GROUP PRESIDENT

Why this conference, and why now? “In light of Brexit, the refugee crisis, dramatic youth unemployment, the financial and social crisis and growing populism all around Europe, we can no longer accept a business as usual approach. Too many people no longer believe in the political maps they used in the past to orientate themselves and feel lost. Europe has become the target of this revolt.”

What’s at stake for Europe? “The ambition of social democratic forces is to reconcile the European project with those who feel abandoned by the European institutions, and who in recent years have been the main pool of support for Euroskepticism and abstentionism: the losers of globalization, the young, the new ‘precariat.’ These are the social groups that we have to win back. The survival of the European project will depend on the ability of our political family to give back control of political processes, which appear increasingly distant and aloof, to these citizens.”

Is this building towards the 2019 elections? “The convention we are about to launch will go back to our values, discuss our founding principles, redefine our program and strengthen our relationship with citizens … Topics will range from economic and social issues to financial regulation, migration policy, foreign policy, education, integration and digitization, to mention just a few.”

Together sounds like a modern take on solidarity: “Together we will raise questions, launch open debates — and together we can find answers.”

WHY CENTRAL EUROPE’S YOUTH ARE ATTRACTED TO THE RIGHT: Lili Bayer sits down with young Hungarians to ask why Central European youths are so skeptical of traditional organized politics. Interesting fact: Only 5 percent of young voters in Hungary, 6 percent in Poland and 9 percent in Slovakia believe that joining a political party would make a difference. http://politi.co/2ehs4Qr

WEIRD CORNER: Gaston Lecat was added to the French Green party’s voter list for the presidential primaries by its owner, Le Monde journalist Raphaëlle Besse Desmoulières, to highlight the absurdities of the political process. The vote will be close, so there are plenty of incentives to cheat, and no checks. http://politi.co/2dJVtgT

FRANCE — RISING TIDE OF RACISM: A death was the culmination of months, even years, of racial tensions in Paris and its suburbs that intensified this summer. http://nyti.ms/2eJK98J

NETHERLANDS — FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD SWITCHES TO ONLINE FOCUS: The Dutch daily national business newspaper’s entire editorial team now works primarily on online content, which can be viewed at fd.nl.

RUSSIA — RT BANK ACCOUNTS CLOSED: Russian state-funded TV network Russia Today said all of its British bank accounts had been blocked. Britain’s Treasury said it was not involved in the move.

BREXIT CORNER …

Nominations for the chair of the UK parliament’s Brexit committee close today at 12 p.m. U.K. time. The Committee will scrutinize the new U.K. government department on exiting the EU. The chair must be a Labour MP. The committee will tweet from @CommonsEUexit.

Tweet du jour: The head of Europe’s biggest political party group wasn’t holding back on Twitter Monday. “Boris Johnson is an unscrupulous careerist and opportunist without conviction. If he has any decency, he will step down,” Manfred Weber wrote. http://bit.ly/2eIIC2y

Petition du jour: A U.K. Conservative local councilor (who has now been suspended from the party) wants supporting EU membership to be criminalized. Carter Stoddard: http://politi.co/2eJLJHp

Paris sends message to London banks: “Tired of fog? Try the frogs!” is the slogan of a new advertising campaign. Jakob Hanke: http://politi.co/2eKBOBs

Romanian technocrat PM sets priorities for his successor: Dacian Cioloș put forward on Monday a list of principles and projects that should be continued after the parliamentary elections in December, when he is due to step down. In launching “Romania at 100” (in 2018, Romania will celebrate 100 years since Transylvania joined the Eastern and Southern part of current Romania), Cioloș said he will stick to his promise to leave politics but doesn’t want his ongoing work thrown on a bonfire. A corruption-free country is Cioloș’s top principle, followed by a responsible political class. Principle No. 9 says Romania should be a country that matters in the EU and in NATO. http://ro100.ro/

Meanwhile, Romanian archbishop accused of defrauding €300 million from EU: The archbishop of the Romanian town of Constanța is being investigated for fraudulently claiming €300 million in EU agricultural funds, the National Anticorruption Directorate said in a statement Monday. Carmen Paun: http://politi.co/2edmKts

Socialists are the frontrunners but may not get a mandate to form a government: They’re expected to win around 40 percent of the vote, however President Klaus Iohannis has said his main priority is ensuring a stable government. That means if centrist and rightwing parties can pull together to form a coalition with 51 percent of the vote behind them, the Socialists may be kept out of power. The president also said he wouldn’t allow anyone to become prime minister if they had “integrity” problems. Socialist leader Liviu Dragnea is accused of corruption. http://bit.ly/2eJPixj

MEP calls for Romanian senate leader to step down: Romanian EPP MEP Siegfried Mureșan called yesterday on his Facebook page for the resignation of the Romanian senate president, Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, after the latter told his colleagues not to vote on any demands from anti-corruption prosecutors to lift immunity. Mediafax: http://bit.ly/2diMRBK

CONDOLENCES: A week after being reelected to the Lithuanian parliament, Juras Požela, the 34-year-old health minister, has died. Požela had been hospitalized for two months in intensive care with acute pancreatitis. His funeral is scheduled for Wednesday.

BRUSSELS CORNER …

TRANSPORT: POLITICO Pro Transport’s launch event on smart transport takes place from 6 p.m., and will feature Commissioner Violeta Bulc, Michael Cramer MEP, Director of Transport & Environment Jos Dings, and Mayor of Ghent and Vice President of Eurocities Daniël Termont. If you have a last minute request for a seat, email: events@politico.eu

APPOINTED: Alex Rinkus is the new communications director for HealthforAnimals.

CHANGING ROLES: Esther King becomes a full time editor at POLITICO, working with Stephan Faris on opinion and feature articles. Natasha Bernard is the new assistant to Executive Editor Matthew Kaminski, joining from the Maltese embassy. Robbie Gramer is leaving the Atlantic Council and joining Foreign Policy Magazine as a staff writer.

STARTING UP: Trevor Soame, the antitrust lawyer featured in Monday’s Playbook, didn’t spend too long on the market. He’s started his own firm: http://bit.ly/2eJPehl

PLAYBOOK COULDN’T HAPPEN WITHOUT Harry Cooper and Zoya Sheftalovich.

THANKS to Christian Oliver, Carmen Paun and Hans von der Burchard.

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